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CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -Dale Jarrett was behind the wheel for the final time in his storied career Saturday night in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. His father, a two-time Cup champion, thinks his son is retiring at the right time.
"I would hate to see him hang on for four or five more years or whatever the case might be," the elder Jarrett said. "People have a tendency to remember you for the last thing you did. I want people to remember him as a champion and a winner in racing. If you hang on too long, sometimes people lose track of that."
Dale Jarrett won 32 races, including three Daytona 500s. The 51-year-old star won the points championship in 1999, but hasn't been a contender in recent years.
Jarrett was honored before the race with a video tribute. He drove a brown UPS delivery truck in a slow lap around the track before the race. UPS was Jarrett's longtime sponsor and he did numerous television commercials with the truck.
Ned Jarrett then did the invocation, and Dale Jarrett was seen wiping his eyes after the national anthem.
Jarrett will be ESPN's lead analyst for its Sprint Cup races, again following his father, a longtime TV commentator. Ned Jarrett thinks that will help the withdrawal symptoms that come with leaving the sport.
"He's had a great career and I think it's time," Ned Jarrett said. "He's going out on his own terms, and I think that's good. But also it's good to see him going into another career in broadcasting, sort of following in my footsteps. All of that makes me proud."
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NO DRESS CODE: Maybe the clothes are the key to Kyle Busch's success.
Busch, the Sprint Cup points leader, has won three times this season and was on the pole for the All-Star race. With eight wins in 2008 in NASCAR's top three series, Busch is clearly relishing his move from Hendrick Motorsports to Joe Gibbs Racing this season.
"It flows easier. It's an easier complex for me to get along with everybody," Busch said. "It's kind of more laid back for me. It's no black dress pants, white shirt tucked in, hair done well, shaved, all that stuff. Joe Gibbs Racing is just jeans and a T-shirt, your Vans shoes or whatever you want to wear. It's more my style and they let you be yourself."
One Joe Gibbs Racing policy is lightening Busch's wallet.
It's tradition for the driver to take out his pit crew for lunch after wins. Busch's dominant season has left him scrambling to pay up.
